Feb 10, 2015 3 min read

MarkWest could proceed tomorrow with plans to build a natural gas compressor station in Robinson Township, but the company wants officials to rezone its land first.

The company submitted an application to classify 252.3 acres in the southwestern part of the township as industrial-zoned land. The property, owned by MarkWest, is currently situated in the commercial and interchange business development districts between Route 980 and Quicksilver Road.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Rodger Kendall said compressor stations are a permitted use in that area, and MarkWest could start constructing the compressor station as long as the facility meets a uniform set of criteria outlined in the zoning ordinance.

Kendall said the board planned to discuss the matter during Monday’s board meeting, but tabled the item because MarkWest spokesman Robert McHale showed up late. The township’s website inaccurately stated that board meetings begin at 7 p.m., but they typically begin at 6 p.m. unless advertised differently.

McHale did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. The board plans to discuss the matter during the next regular meeting on March 9.

Robinson currently has an industrial zone in the eastern part of the township, but McHale wrote in a letter to the township that there is an “economically justified need” to create a second industrial zone in the southern part of the township. He addressed the recent challenge to the township’s zoning ordinance, which was lodged by three families and later dismissed by the zoning hearing board, and said a successful appeal of the zoning board’s decision would “severely constrain” natural gas development.

“Natural gas would, essentially, be landlocked, potentially jeopardizing substantial investments in natural gas interests within the township, as well as impacting numerous landowners who earn royalties in return for permitting and encouraging the responsible development of the natural gas upon which all of us depend,” McHale wrote.

To date, the parties involved in the zoning ordinance challenge have not filed an appeal of the zoning board’s decision in Washington County Court.

McHale also said that the land in question is ideal for industrial development and was previously the site of a reclaimed strip mine. One family and seven businesses and facilities, including the McDonald Sportsmen’s Association, own property within 300 feet of MarkWest’s land near Quicksilver Road.